Stephen Colbert cancelled!

Project 2025 alive and well...there goes the 1st amendment.

 

all Colbert is is an extension of the democrat party- cbs is having severe financial issues - some from the lawsuit settlement but probably more to do with viewers tuning out

 

Who?

 

Well, maybe. The only question that needs to be answered is, was the show profitable? If it was, then there are probably some more questions to ask. If it wasn't, then the network had no duty whatsoever to keep it on the air just because some people liked the politics.

 

Haven't watched a late night talk show in probably 20 years. Last I heard Colbert had a show on comedy central, which I also never watched.

 

Supposedly he had the top ratings of all the late night shows, so calling this a “financial decision” doesn’t pass the smell test. It is a political move.

Although Colbert has always been hyperpolitical, I never thought that schtick was a good fit for late night but the fact that he had winning ratings speaks otherwise. I thought he was funny back in the day (ditto for John Stewart which is where Colbert got his start). I never watch late night at all, but the highlights/clips I’ve seen weren’t funny. From what I’ve seen I personally find him stale or even cynical, but as I said, the ratings actually had him winning so most likely finding another platform wouldn’t be an issue for him.

 

Its the top rated late night show, so its not that

Late Night Ratings Revealed: Who's Top & Who's Lagging Behind?

They want their merger bad

 

I think going network, he lost the edge he had in the Colbert Report. I went to a taping of Late Night with Colbert once, the comedy was pretty "safe" in my opinion, like you would expect on CBS. He'll be fine, as someone will throw a lot of money at him, whether its Netflix or Max or whatever. Hopefully he can let loose a little more.

 

That should be an indicator of profitability but isn't necessarily. The next question would be, were sponsors lining up to advertise on his program? If not, why not? It could be that late-night TV simply does not make money for networks like it used to. Being #1 among a bunch of shows that no one wants to sponsor is like being the guy who can whisper the loudest.

 

Its a variety show, there are barely costs involved in making it compared to anything else on the network. That's why "late night" is a thing to begin with. Its still more profitable than running infomercials or something scripted with actual production costs. Lately the better ones have been "free" digital viral content generators for people who dont even watch the show.

 

Well that is also true, even “winning” ratings might not support big contracts and an expensive live taping every day. I’m guessing viewership is nowhere near the heyday of late night. But that is true for most network stuff. There’s zillions of choices including streaming. A far cry from the days when there were 3 channels and every American basically watched the same few choices.

 

That could very well be. No idea. My only point is that there are more questions to ask before jumping to the conclusion that Trump got Colbert fired because of his politics.

 

I’m not so sure of that. Colbert reportedly makes $15 mil a year, there’s a whole crew of people working, cameramen, union writers, lighting, make-up, etc. Presumably they at least compensate expenses for all their guests. It all adds up when you film every day. Yeah it’s not some CGI heavy scripted show that costs $300 million, but you can’t assume it’s cheap enough to be a big profit driver either.

 

A $16M settlement is not the problem for CBS red ink.

as for Colbert; all late-night shows are seeing a drop. Maybe a dying genre.

“In 2018, network late-night shows took in $439 million in ad revenue, by last year, that figure had dropped to $220 million, a 50 percent drop in just seven years.”




It’s never a good idea to bite the hand that feeds you. Days before they canceled his show….

“Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit over an interview on “60 Minutes,” a move Mr. Colbert criticized on his show as “a big fat bribe.”



also CBS could be kissing the ring….

“Paramount is in the midst of closing a multibillion-dollar merger with the movie studio Skydance, a deal that requires approval from the Trump administration.”


https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/17/...ytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

 

Where did it go? Was Colbert arrested for protesting the US government?

 

Different time slots for one thing.

Have you watch Gutfeld? Imo it’s almost unwatchable - just literally dumb jokes. Everything is on the nose and not clever. It’s appears mostly off-the-cuff and that’s a hard format. Maybe I’ll give it another try.

 

I've been on this show. A) You don't get ANY compensation to go on any Late Night show, nothing is covered by the show, that's usually covered by whatever thing you're promoting at the time. The free publicity of being there is the compensation.

B) The other poster is right, this is as bare bones as you get in film and television production, these Late Night shows are like well-oiled machines, lots of old union crews, no frills, no surprises, steady overhead and a gig that you can set your watch to (so no hemorrhaging overtime either).

Overhead would NOT be a reason this show became unprofitable